Scrapbook MOCA

DIY Days: Launching the Next Generation of Fashion...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:52:38 -0400

DIY Days: Launching the Next Generation of Fashion Designers!

Through this summer workshop series, kids who love fashion will get an up-close look at some of the pieces featured in the Museum’s exhibitions Front Row: Chinese American Designers and Shanghai Glamour: New Women 1910s-40s (exhibitions open April 26, 2013). Participants will have the opportunity to create their own original accessories; the work will then be photographed for an online DIY Days lookbook.

We’re trying to raise $5,000 in just 45 days and we need your help. Our fundraiser is all-or-nothing, which means that if we don’t raise at least this money, no donations go through and we don’t receive any funds.

Donations of any size are very much appreciated and truly do bring us closer to hitting our goal. Please, donate what you can and share this campaign with your friends, families and co-workers.

Make a donation by clicking this link to our campaign page on WeDidIt: DIY Days. You can also make a donation over the phone by calling WeDidIt at 347.425.1257.

We thank you for your support! With your help, our campaign will be successful and kids and teens will have the opportunity to make their fashion design dreams come true!

Please reblog and share!

Our last-but-not-least Super Hero comes from Brooklynite Julia!...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:15:00 -0500

Our last-but-not-least Super Hero comes from Brooklynite Julia! She says:

I’m a girl with her cat (Biggie). If we were superheroes, we would have superpowers such as the ability to see and talk to spirits, predict the future, read minds, hear thoughts, radiate vibes, emotionally/spiritually heal and change aura’s. My cat would be able to talk to which only I can hear and he will start off by having the same powers as I do but is a little rusty since he’s got problems concentrating and harnessing his powers. Eventually, he would evolve and be able to walk through walls and teleport. We would go on amazing adventures-solve crime and mysteries, heal those that need healing but first, we have to deal with each other’s nuances and how annoying BIggie can be when he’s hungry!

Snooze, eat lots, be happy and laugh along the way.

Julia & Biggie

(You can find more Biggie & Me comics here and follow Julia on Twitter @YongJulia.)

Thanks for helping us close out our competition, Julia!

Today’s Super Hero comes from nine-year-old Madison of...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:48:58 -0500

Today’s Super Hero comes from nine-year-old Madison of West Harrison, NY. Thanks for sharing, Madison—your new Orpheus is awesome! (We especially appreciate your detailed back story.) Great work!

Check out our newest Super…Villain? From Avalon Van Es of...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:10:00 -0500

Check out our newest Super…Villain? From Avalon Van Es of Kerkrade, the Netherlands (our first international submission!)

Says Avalon: My superhero can control the ancient Staff of One, which can only be summoned when her own blood is drawn. I could do anything I want with it, as long as I “repay” it. And yes, I would be a villain. :)

nypl: A very happy 90th birthday to comic legend Stan Lee! Did...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:03:40 -0500

nypl:

A very happy 90th birthday to comic legend Stan Lee! Did you know that NYPL has an interesting connection with the iconic writer of Spider-man, X-Men, Thor, and more? A portion of the movie Spider-man was filmed outside the Library’s iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. How ~~icon-orific~~ ~~spidey-tastic~~ great!

This flashback Friday was brought to you by the books, Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics, Essential Hulk and The Fantastic Four.

(That’s Patience standing guard in the above photo)

Happy Birthday, Stan Lee! Check out How to Draw Comics, and then submit your superhero self to our contest!

Check out our newest superhero Artslinger! Says...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:09:59 -0500

Check out our newest superhero Artslinger! Says Artslinger’s creator: If I were a superhero, I’d wear something comfortable that I could actually go out in public wearing. I would have powers similar to Green Lantern, insofar as physicalizing ideas, the difference being that I would project these things through art materials like spray paint cans or markers. I would call myself Artslinger.

gq: ROCKETMAN: The Future of Jeremy Lin NYC! Come join GQ’s...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:11:27 -0500

gq:

ROCKETMAN: The Future of Jeremy Lin

NYC! Come join GQ’s Devin Gordon, Grantland’s Hua Hsu, New York Magazine’s Will Leitch and documentary filmmaker Ursula Liang as they discuss GQ’s November 2012 Cover Star Jeremy Lin at the Museum of Chinese in America this Friday. Launching the museum’s new sports-relared public program series, MOCASPORTS, they’ll be discussing Lin’s compelling story and what the next chapter might hold for Linsanity. Details below.

ROCKETMAN: The Future of Jeremy Lin
Friday, November 9, at 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Admission: $10 non-members/ $5 MOCA members
RSVP required: programs@mocanyc.org

Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Telephone: 212 619 4875

For more information and upcoming events, please visit www.mocanyc.org.

We are SO excited to be partnered with these fantastic people on this awesome program. We hope to see you there!

Rose Tan (or Rocket Rose, we suppose) says: If I were a...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:18:00 -0500

Rose Tan (or Rocket Rose, we suppose) says: If I were a superhero, I would be the go-to-gal to fight crime with lightning and rocket speed from the Great Warriors from above! I’d have the ability to fly as well and see danger through my specially-designed goggles. People would say: “look up in the sky! It’s Rocket Rose!”

We dig it, Rocket Rose! (Rose is at home on the internet here, in case you want to see more!)

FIRST #MOCAcontest WINNER!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:35:36 -0500

We are SuperExcited to announce that Lisa Lim’s Grandmother is our October winner. You can see her butcher-knife-wielding granny here. Lisa’s work will be displayed onsite at the Museum, and she is now in the running for our grand prize. Congrats, Lisa! And stay tuned for a new SuperHero posting later today…

We’re just going to say it: this is Massively Adorable! It...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:52:00 -0400

We’re just going to say it: this is Massively Adorable! It comes from 17-year-old Alyza of Princeton Junction: If I were a superhero, I’d be called Volumina the Massively Cute (Volumina the Massively Adorable didn’t fit on the page). I fight crime through the ability to manipulate precipitation, a gift I received after being hit by lighting, and I carry around a bag full of thunder and lightning pellets.

MOCA, AAWW and Hyperallergic Present: Halloween Costume Ball

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:44:29 -0400

substancedigi:

What are you doing on Halloween? Dressing up as a superhero and partying at one of New York’s coolest downtown museums? We thought so.

Hyperallergic is partnering with the Museum of Chinese in America and the Asian American Writers Workshop to throw a Halloween Marvels and Monsters Ball on October 31.

Come to MOCA at 215 Centre Street from 8–11 pm dressed as your favorite superhero or supervillain and join us for an open bar, nibbles, and music by DJ Mas.

Tickets are $10, or just $5 for members, and will be on sale at the door. Best costume wins a tricky treat!

Hosted in MOCA’s Maya Lin-designed home, the party takes its theme from two ongoing exhibitions at the museum. Marvels and Monsters showcases an array of images of Asians and Asian-Americans in mainstream comics, from evil kung-fu masters to conflicted teenagers. Alt.Comics explores how Asian-American artists and writers have innovated the medium of the comic book.

Hyperallergic editors and writers will be there (with masks on, though, so you can’t recognize us), and you should too.

The Marvels and Monsters Ball will take place on October 31 from 8 to 11 PM at the Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street.

RSVP on Facebook

via Substance Digital http://bit.ly/TvhRZ9

So excited!

If I were a Superhero, I’d be: Stereotype Rebel. She will...

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:32:00 -0400

If I were a Superhero, I’d be: Stereotype Rebel. She will pull the truth out of you and disappear with that info in an instant. She can cook. She can sew. She can even change the oil in your car, so don’t ever underestimate her. Blink, and you will miss her jet-setting to Paris, bouncing to Madrid, and hopping over to London, but don’t be so sure that she’s not watching you.

Can you clear up the guidelines for the "If I Were a Superhero" drawing contest? I checked out the MOCA site, but the details still seem a little unclear. Thanks

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:07:24 -0400

Sure thing! You can submit by sending the image directly to us at info(at)mocanyc.org, or by posting it on your own tumblr and sending us a link so we can reblog. (We recommend tagging it #MOCAcontest as well so we can find it!)

Once per month, the curators will select their favorite pieces, which will be on digital display in the Museum. Then, at the end of the exhibition a Grand Prize winner will be selected from these the finalists. The winner will receive a copy of Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology, a copy of Secret Identities Volume 2: Shattered, and a T-shirt created for the exhibition by Jerry Ma and signed by the artist.

Hope that helps!

It’s our very first submission! This one comes from Lisa...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:43:34 -0400

It’s our very first submission! This one comes from Lisa Lim (@chineseladybug) who says:

This is a drawing of my greatest superhero - my butcher-knife swinging grandmother who used to wield her relentless tiger mom powers with abandon.

It is a special character written about in “Pots and Pans”, a graphic comic for sale (soon) at MOCA!

Thanks to everyone who’s been liking and reblogging our...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:45:11 -0400

Thanks to everyone who’s been liking and reblogging our contest… now we want to see your drawings! You can post them on your own blog with the hashtag #MOCAcontest, tweet a link at us (@mocanyc) or email it directly in to info(at)mocanyc.org. Now let’s see your Super Selves!

Photo

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:05:00 -0400

hyperallergic: Over 1,500 US Museums Are Free This...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 23:39:11 -0400

hyperallergic:

Over 1,500 US Museums Are Free This Weekend

Including MOCA! (And yes, we know, long time no tumble. We’ll be back soon!)

As part of the critically-acclaimed MOCA exhibition America...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:40:41 -0400

As part of the critically-acclaimed MOCA exhibition America through a Chinese Lens (April – September9, 2012), a survey of photographs depicting American life as shot by Chinese and Chinese American artists, documentary photographers and non-professionals, we used MOCA’s tumblr page, Scrapbook MOCA, to expand on the show’s themes and engage with our online audiences.

During the run of the show, new media artist and design strategist An Xiao shot and posted photographs regularly as she traveled throughout the west and southwest, offering a live visual essay about her America on our tumblr page. Inspired by that project, we surveyed our staff and volunteers for reflections on their America as seen through a family photograph. Here’s a photo in the series My America from Gerald Lam, one of our Young Professionals:

I was surprised to find this picture on my parents’ mantle. Not just because their spartan aesthetic rarely includes wall decor. But because it was a rare display of emotion. A subdued, quiet display but a display nonetheless. On the left is their recently remodeled home. On the right is the house as it stood for over 50 years. In their own controlled way my parents are proud. Proud that, finally, after decades of hardship and sacrifice, they’ve “made it” - the home was and is the grand token of success for many Chinese immigrants. I often wonder what that token is for my generation.

It’s been a special journey for me as I’ve...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:59:13 -0400

It’s been a special journey for me as I’ve participated in this project. I started shortly after returning from my first extended stay in Asia as an adult, and I returned to the United States with fresh eyes and a searching mind. These photos, in little ways here and there, have reflected that.

The more fellow travelers I meet, the more I realize that our journey is at once geographical as it is psychological. The wanderers I meet are searching for something. They pick up tiny somethings with each stop, and those somethings accumulate and gather with drops of meaning. Maybe, if they’re lucky, they learn to stay still. Sometimes, if they’re lucky, they never stop searching.

I am a traveler, at least for now. As I get ready for my first extended stay in Africa, I remember that my earliest memory is on an airplane, somewhere above the Pacific Ocean. I am happiest in motion, whether the roads are paved or dirt, waterways or jet streams. I want to see new lands, breathe new air, meet new people.

My posts with the Museum of Chinese in America end here. (That sounds like the end of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, and I guess that’s fitting.) After snapping photos for this project, I still don’t know how to define the lens through which I see the world. But I know it’s my lens, and I’ll continue to take photos for as long as I have access to a camera.

Thanks for joining me these past few months. As exhilarating as it is, travel is lonely at times, and it’s nice to bring friends with me on my journeys. I hope we cross paths again soon.

An Xiao Mina
September 2011

As this project winds down, I’ve been thinking more about...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 13:59:37 -0400

As this project winds down, I’ve been thinking more about what it means to see America through a Chinese lens, or my lens, at least. And when I think, I like to spend time by the Pacific. I look west, where my ancestors once looked east.

I’ve realized in the scope of the project how much of a traveller I am. It’s in my bones, in my blood. I love to see new things, explore new worlds, set foot on new journeys and adventures in this big world. And in the social networking age, I can share what I see.

Recently, I looked out on the ocean, but then I looked up, and I saw this kite. Sometimes I wonder if the kite is me, flying free out there but tethered by the messages I send home and ping around the world.